US bishops on climate change, or, Stuff that shows up in my mailbox

I'm pretty sure we all knew that Pope Francis is no slouch on climate change and the duty to protect God's creation, but what about the US bishops? 
I couldn't have provided much of an answer to that question until yesterday, when, making a too-occasional jaunt through my parish email inbox, I ran across this note from Bishop Richard Pates of the Des Moines diocese.  Truth to tell, I had never previously heard of him, but I like what he's saying and doing here.  I paste the letter below, followed by the declaration which the email urges me to sign on behalf of my organization.  I'm not authorized to do that unilaterally for the parish, but I think the statement is pretty good, and I urge all of us to take a look at it, and talk to our pastors and pastoral leaders about it.

Here is the letter from Bishop Pates:

From: Bishop Richard Pates <richardpates@ocd-info.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 8:04 AM
To: Jim Pauwels
Subject: Support for the Catholic Climate Declaration

Catholic Climate Covenant

415 Michigan Ave. NE

 Suite 260

Washington, DC 20017

Dear Deacon James Pauwels:

I write to seek your support for the U.S. Catholic Climate Declaration, a distinct Catholic expression of the We Are Still In (WASI) campaign. Archbishop Broglio, Bishop Dewane, and I sent a similar appeal to our fellow bishops in the United States, and we now invite you to sign the Declaration.

Why this effort?
The WASI campaign is an effort to demonstrate America’s commitment to address climate change after President Trump announced on June 1, 2017 his intention to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. On that day, the U.S. bishops added their voice to the many groups expressing disappointment with this decision. A few days later, American civil society launched the We Are Still In campaign to show the world that America’s leaders stand by the Paris Agreement and are committed to meeting its goals. To date, over 2,600 institutions—including cities, states, tribes, businesses, investors, universities, non-profits, and places of worship—have joined the campaign, representing the largest cross-section of American society ever to support climate action.

Today, we ask your organization’s endorsement of the Catholic Climate Declaration.
This declaration is a distinct Catholic expression in support of the We Are Still In campaign. The Catholic Climate Declaration expresses the moral imperative to protect and promote human life and human dignity, the poorest and most vulnerable peoples, and our common home. It recognizes—as the U.S. bishops said in 2001—that:

At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God's creation and the one human family. It is about protecting both "the human environment" and the natural environment. It is about our human stewardship of God's creation and our responsibility to those who come after us.

Catholic Teaching on Climate Change
Beginning with Saint John Paul in 1990, the Catholic Church has accepted the reality of human-forced climate change and expressed concern about the moral consequences of global warming. The Church has repeatedly advocated for an international climate change agreement in response to this existential threat. The Paris Agreement is an international effort adopted by 195 nations and supported by the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It recognizes that climate change represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet and it establishes a framework to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels.

This effort is being coordinated by Catholic Climate Covenant, a USCCB-supported organization whose mission is to inspire and equip people and institutions in the U.S. to care for creation and for the poor in response to Church teaching on climate change. Commitments to the Catholic Climate Declaration will be made public on the third anniversary of the release of Laudato Sí, June 18, 2018.

If you wish to enroll your Catholic institution, organization, or community, please go to http://www.catholicclimatecovenant.org/catholic-climate-declaration.

We hope you will join us in response to our Catholic faith.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Richard E. Pates
Diocese of Des Moines
Episcopal Liaison, Catholic Climate Covenant

______________

The following is the U.S. Catholic Climate Declaration, which may be found at the Catholic Climate Covenant website:

As Catholic communities, organizations, and institutions in the United States, we join with state, tribal, and local governments, as well as businesses, financial institutions, and other faith organizations, to declare that we are still in on actions that meet the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.

The Catholic Church has long recognized—and 55 years ago Pope Paul VI eloquently described--the tragic consequences of unchecked human activity (Laudato Si', 4).  This reality includes the problem of excess greenhouse gas pollution and the reality of human-forced climate change.  In 2001 the U.S Bishops said that “global climate is by its very nature a part of the planetary commons,” and that prudent action must be taken to protect it (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good, 2001). On numerous occasions Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have called for an international climate change agreement.

Climate change is an urgent moral issue because it compromises the future of our common home, threatens human life and human dignity, and adds to the hardships already experienced by the poorest and most vulnerable people both at home and abroad. We teach that governments exist to protect and promote the common good, and that “the climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all." (Laudato Si', 23).

"[A]t its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God's creation and the one human family. It is about protecting both 'the human environment' and the natural environment. It is about our human stewardship of God's creation and our responsibility to those who come after us" (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good, 2001). 

In December 2015, the leaders of 195 nations adopted the Paris Agreement that established a framework for nations to reduce carbon emissions to limit the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and to avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change. The Holy See and the U.S. Bishops have repeatedly voiced their support for it.  

On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris agreement, the only nation to do so. In response, the U.S. bishops declared, “The President's decision not to honor the U.S. commitment to the Paris agreement is deeply troubling” (USCCB Statement on the President's Withdrawal from Paris Agreement, June 1, 2017).

 As Catholic communities, organizations, and institutions in the United States, we join with other institutions from across American society to ensure that the United States remains a global leader in reducing emissions. We call for the Administration to join the global community and return to the Paris Agreement.